Absenteeism and Beyond : Instructional Time Loss and Consequences

Studies have shown that learning outcomes are related to the amount of time students engage in learning tasks. However, visits to schools have revealed that students are often taught for only a fraction of the intended time, particularly in lower-income countries. Losses are due to informal school closures, teacher absenteeism, delays, early departures, and sub-optimal use of time in the classroom. A study was undertaken to develop an efficient methodology for measuring instructional time loss. Thus, instructional time use was measured in sampled schools in Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, and the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. The percentage of time that students were engaged in learning vis-à-vis government expectations was approximately 39 percent in Ghana, 63 percent in Pernambuco, 71 percent in Morocco, and 78 percent in Tunisia. Instructional time use is a mediator variable that is challenging to measure, so it often escapes scrutiny. Research suggests that merely financing the ingredients of instruction is not enough to produce learning outcomes; students must also get sufficient time to process the information. The quantity-quality tradeoff that often accompanies large-scale enrollments may be partly due to instructional time restrictions. Time wastage also distorts budgetary outlays and teacher salary rates. To achieve the Millennium Development Goals students must get more of the time that governments, donors, and parents pay for.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Abadzi, Helen
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2007-10
Subjects:	ABSENTEEISM RATES, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, ACADEMIC LEARNING, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ACADEMIC SUBJECTS, ACADEMIC YEAR, ACCESS TO TEXTBOOKS, ACHIEVEMENT OUTCOMES, ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES, ACHIEVEMENT TESTS, ACHIEVEMENTS, ACTIVE LEARNING METHODS, AFTERNOON SHIFT, APTITUDE, ASSESSMENT METHODS, ATTENDANCE RATE, ATTENDANCE RATES, AVERAGE CLASS SIZE, BASIC EDUCATION, BASIC SERVICE, BASIC SKILLS, BOOK DISTRIBUTION, CALL, CIRCUIT SUPERVISORS, CLASS ACTIVITIES, CLASS SIZES, CLASS TIME, CLASSROOM, CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES, CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, CLASSROOM TIME, CLASSROOMS, COGNITIVE RESEARCH, CURRICULA, CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES, CURRICULUM, DROPOUT RATES, EARLY GRADES, EDUCATION FOR ALL, EDUCATION FOR ALL INITIATIVE, EDUCATION INVESTMENTS, EDUCATION LENDING, EDUCATION LEVEL, EDUCATION MINISTRIES, EDUCATION SYSTEMS, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT, EDUCATIONAL INPUTS, EDUCATIONAL POLICIES, EDUCATIONAL QUALITY, EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, EDUCATORS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, EXAM, EXPANSION OF EDUCATION, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, FEMALE TEACHERS, FINAL EXAMINATIONS, FINAL EXAMS, FOREIGN LANGUAGES, GIRLS, GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOLS, GRADE TEACHERS, HEAD TEACHERS, HIGHER DROPOUT, HOMEWORK, HOURS OF INSTRUCTION, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, INSERVICE TRAINING, INSTRUCTION, INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES, INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY, INSTRUCTIONAL EFFICIENCY, INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS, INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES, INSTRUCTIONAL SETTINGS, INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, INTERACTIVE INSTRUCTION, INTERACTIVE LEARNING, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION, LATIN AMERICAN, LEARNERS, LEARNING, LEARNING ACTIVITIES, LEARNING MODELS, LEARNING OUTCOMES, LEARNING PROCESSES, LEARNING TIME, LITERACY, LITERATURE, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS, LOWER ACHIEVEMENT, LOWER SECONDARY, LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION, MATHEMATICS, MIDDLE EASTERN, MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, MULTIGRADE CLASSES, MULTIGRADE TEACHING, NATURAL SCIENCES, NON-FORMAL EDUCATION, OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS, OVERCROWDED CLASSES, PAPERS, PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT, PARENTAL SUPPORT, PEDAGOGY, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY GRADES, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULA, PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PRIMARY-SCHOOL, PRINCIPALS, PRIVATE SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, PRIVATE TUTORING, PROFESSORS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PUPIL PERFORMANCE, QUALITY EDUCATION, QUALITY OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, RATES OF ABSENTEEISM, READING, RECURRENT EXPENDITURE, REGULAR SCHOOLS, REPETITION, RESEARCHERS, RURAL AREAS, RURAL SCHOOL, RURAL SCHOOLS, SALARY INCREASES, SCHOOL CALENDAR, SCHOOL CLASSROOMS, SCHOOL DAY, SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SCHOOL HOURS, SCHOOL LEVEL, SCHOOL OPERATION, SCHOOL OWNERS, SCHOOL REGISTERS, SCHOOL STAFF, SCHOOL TIME, SCHOOL VISIT, SCHOOL VISITS, SCHOOL YEAR, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SCIENCE STUDY, SECONDARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SECONDARY SCHOOLS, SERVICE TRAINING, SHIFT SCHOOLS, SKILLS ACQUISITION, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SOCIAL STUDIES, STUDENT ABSENCES, STUDENT ABSENTEEISM, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTENDANCE, STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATES, STUDENT GROUPS, STUDENT LEARNING, STUDENT PERFORMANCE, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, SUBJECT AREAS, SUBJECT MATTER, TEACHER, TEACHER ABSENTEEISM, TEACHER ATTRITION, TEACHER BEHAVIOR, TEACHER BEHAVIORS, TEACHER PARTICIPATION, TEACHER QUALITY, TEACHER RECRUITMENT, TEACHER STRIKES, TEACHER TRAINING, TEACHER UNIONS, TEACHERS, TEACHERS UNIONS, TEACHING, TEACHING ACTIVITY, TEACHING AIDS, TEST SCORES, TEXTBOOK, TEXTBOOK AVAILABILITY, TEXTBOOKS, THE GAMBIA, TRAINEES, TUITION, TUTORS, TYPES OF STUDENTS, UNIVERSAL PRIMARY SCHOOL COMPLETION, UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, URBAN SCHOOLS, VISITS TO SCHOOLS, VOCATIONAL SKILLS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/10/8474224/absenteeism-beyond-instructional-time-loss-consequences https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7569
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